Over the weekend the Springfield paper printed a letter written by a citizen who is concerned about the airport’s new fire station. Rather than responding in the paper (and in the process helping to fan the flames and stir its pot further), let us offer a cool, objective response. Civil discourse, if you will.

There’s more great new to report about the airport’s passenger numbers: they’re up, again. We finished the month of July with 84,079 total passengers. That’s up 13 percent from the same month last year.

In June our numbers were up ten percent. In May they were up 17 percent.

This morning the airport community gathered to dedicate the airport's new fire station. It's only the second fire station in the airport’s 63 year history. It replaces the one located next to the old terminal. That old station has served since the mid-1960s.

June 2009 was the second busiest month in the history of our airport. The total passenger count: 85,976. Our number one month was June of 2005: 88,024.

June’s numbers were up ten percent over the same month last year. It marks the fourth consecutive month of growth and comes at a time of declining passenger numbers across the country. The only other major nearby airport experiencing growth is the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. It reported its June numbers up 3.9 percent. Passenger numbers were down at the airports in Tulsa, Kansas City and St. Louis.

..."do you seriously believe that your new terminal, advertising campaign and lower fares by the airlines to fill seats, maybe this one a little, had anything to do with your increase. You know exactly what did it. Competition from the Branson Airport and their low fares are driving down your prices in the region. Why don’t you just admit that? The opening of the Branson Airport is now helping you so why don’t you embrace it."

The number of people using our airport leaped 17 percent in May, compared to the same month last year. The increase comes after 15 consecutive months of numbers that were negative or flat. It was the tenth busiest month in the airport’s history. To do that, in the middle of a recession, is amazing.